Never say die!

Recent data show how the 39 nations which ratified the Kyoto Protocol are doing in reducing carbon emissions. The result is mixed. Sixteen nations are on track to meet their obligations, while 20 are not. Before jumping to conclusions, what the data show is that reductions are due to economic and political reasons and NOT due to any action taken by any governments.

On the bad-news side is Canada whose emissions between 1990 and 2006 rose by 21 percent and that of the US by 14 percent.

Meanwhile, the debate on climate change is not over as far as some people are concerned. New York will see a continued debate in January on ‘Major reductions in carbon emissions are not worth the money’.

While it is no more about the nature of climate change, it is all about technology and costs! Arguments range from those that claim alternative energy production is only for the wealthy, and that the poor (including a ‘depressed’ US!) can ill-afford this, to questions on whether it is about technology at all, or more about social or political?!

There are those who agree that the globe is warming but insist that there is no cause for alarm. More important is to address the poverty and food issues. One such was the late Michael Crichton, author of well known novels like Andromeda Strain, Congo, Jurassic Park, Prey, State of Fear, etc. (Crichton passed away last week.)

Crichton believed that alarmists have laid siege to the world since long… All my life I worried about the decay of the environment, the tragic loss of species, the collapse of ecosystems. I feared poisoning by pesticides, alar on apples, falling sperm counts from endocrine disrupters, cancer from power lines, cancer from saccharine, cancer from cell phones, cancer from computer screens, cancer from food coloring, hair spray, electric razors, electric blankets, coffee, chlorinated water…it never seemed to end.

There is a lot of misinformation out there for sure. One only needs to read contradicting reports from authentic sources.

What do you think? Should we address the immediate challenges facing humankind and forget the long-term one? Or can we do both? Do we forget climate change and focus on sustainable living instead?